EXCLUSIVE: The Jewish Movie Institute has revealed the recipients for its 2025 grants.
In whole, JFI is honoring six narrative and documentary movies this 12 months, chosen from a document 136 candidates. The group awarded $75,000 in grants this 12 months.
The initiatives had been chosen by an impartial panel of filmmakers and business professionals. Since its inception in 2020, JFI has funded almost $500,000 for 38 initiatives.
This 12 months’s grant recipients are:
Double Happiness by Shari Albert (United States, Narrative): After the loss of life of her husband of fifty years, a life-affirming Jewish widow and the tightly-wound Chinese language-American restaurateur who serves her household each Christmas discover themselves drawn into an sudden late-in-life romance.
Earth Camp One by Jennie Livingston (United States, Documentary): Earth Camp One tells the story of how the filmmaker misplaced 5 members of the family in a decade. We regularly need to break free from our households: what occurs once they go away us? Recipient of a JFI Discretionary Grant.
In search of Yadida by Itay Morag (Israel, Documentary): For many years, the destiny of Yedida, the director’s misplaced aunt, remained a thriller. Now, for the primary time, nurses from 1950’s youngsters properties break their silence, revealing new particulars about one among Israel’s most painful and unresolved instances.
Upkeep Artist by Toby Perl Freilich (United States, Documentary): “After the Revolution, who’s going to choose up the rubbish?” puzzled Mierle Laderman Ukeles. In 1977, she turned the primary artist-in-residence at New York Metropolis’s Sanitation Division. Upkeep Artist tells the story of a public artist who turned a radical drive in up to date artwork. The movie had its World Premiere at this 12 months’s Tribeca Movie Pageant, its West Coast Premiere at SFJFF45, and remains to be elevating funds for last mixes and distribution efforts. Winner of the Albert & Judith Goldberg Memorial Award for Jewish Arts and Tradition.
Steal This Story, Please! By Carla Deal and Tia Lessin (United States, Documentary): Amy Goodman’s private story, her heat and radical spirit, and her completely fearless reporting are interwoven with the monumental occasions she has coated over a long time, spotlighting the crucial function of journalism in a democracy. Winner of the Harvey Goldberg Memorial Award.
Untitled Alex Odeh Documentary by Jason Osder (United States, Documentary): The assassination of a beloved Palestinian-American activist in Southern California ignites a 40-year quest for justice, revealing the insidious roots of a harmful political motion that thrives in the present day. Winner of the Envision Award for the movie’s singular capacity to check a world freed from prejudice and hate.
“Lower than 1% of Jewish philanthropy in North America helps Jewish arts and tradition — but movie and storytelling are among the many strongest methods individuals make sense of the world. At a time of rising international antisemitism, deepening political polarization, and disappearing federal help for the humanities, JFI is doubling down on its mission,” Lexi Leban, Govt Director, Jewish Movie Institute, mentioned in an announcement. “We’re proud to champion daring, visionary filmmakers who dare to ask tough questions and invite audiences to see and listen to each other with empathy and openness.”
Along with its grant recipients, the JFI additionally introduced the winners of the Pageant’s Finest Documentary Quick and Finest Narrative Quick Awards.
The winner of the SFJFF45 Finest Documentary Quick Award is The Sacred Society by Benny Zelkowicz. It’s now eligible to compete on the 98th Academy Awards, as SFJFF is an Oscar-qualifying movie competition within the Documentary (Quick Topic) class.
The winner of the SFJFF45 Finest Narrative Quick Award is Tongue Behind Tooth by Ira Eduardovna, which was a finalist for the 2025 grants cycle as properly. A particular point out was given to Tears Tears Solely Tears by Yuval Shapira.
